With many products the price to the consumer is linked to its performance. For example a printer having a low resolution or print speed generally costs less to buy than a printer having a high resolution. This is usually because the cost to the manufacturer of providing the better performance is greater than the cost of providing the lower performance. For example, a high resolution ink jet printer may have more nozzles in the printhead or more accurate control compared to a low resolution device; a high resolution laser printer may use toner having finer particles than a low resolution device. Current ink jet printers (most photocopiers are electro-photographic, and do not scan) utilize at least one device which scans or reciprocates across the width or length of the paper being printed or copied. This reciprocating motion generally places limits on the speed of printing or copying.
The current applicants have developed page width printheads which allow ink jet printing of a page to occur by moving a page past a fixed printhead. This removes one printing speed limitation and can increase the base level of performance. The speed of printing is then limited by factors such as speed of paper feed, the speed of the printer's electronics and the speed of the printhead itself.